Saturday, August 09, 2008

For the first time I've had to subcontract out a product review because I'm afraid I no longer have use for an Evenflo stroller, no matter how wonderful it might be.

So for this week's information I turned to family and asked my sister Carinne to take the Evenflo Journey Premier Stroller out for a test drive--she's very product-savvy--and then let me know what she thought the pros and cons might be. After five children and a few strollers I figured she ought to know.

Here's what she had to say:

I am very impressed. For being a 'cheaper' stroller--and by that I mean one that is under $100, which is still a decent price to pay--it's a nice model for the money. Maybe I'm just used to stripped-down versions, but I feel like this is a deluxe model (my last stroller was a Graco that I bought 11 years ago but which wasn't spectacular).

Things I like:

The one hand folding feature which works very well, it's easy to fold and unfold.

The one hand steering handle though the feature isn't as easy once you have the child in the stroller. I'm sure it's easier with a newborn but with Miles [a healthy sized toddler] I couldn't turn it easily without both hands.

The seat cushion is nice and big with large sides though I'm not in love with the cutesy bear fabric pattern--though with Miles in it you can't see much of the fabric anyway.

It reclines easily--again with one hand. I've never had a stroller that I could recline so easily though it would be nicer if it folded completely flat rather than the airline version of "reclined" though a child would still be comfortable sleeping in it.

The storage basket is large.

The snack tray opens easily. With my old strollers I'd have to clip on the snack bar and I'd end up pinching my fingers half the time. I'd usually end up tossing the snack bars because they'd be such a pain to snap on and off. This one is attached and swivels with the push of a button.

The seat belt straps adjust easily.

The shade actually snaps into place in either the open or closed position.

There's a two-cup holder and snack compartment with a lid at the handle bar.

It seems to fold pretty flat.

So besides the stroller Carinne gets to keep for her efforts I have another Evenflo Journey Premier Stroller to give away to a random entrant, direct from Evenflo themselves. Wonderful!

Here's how to win:

Before 12 am Monday go to the giveaway entry form on this page and enter your name and email. I will pick one of the names at random, contact the winner via their email and publish the winner's first name and home town in next Tuesday's post. See the bottom of the entry form for more details.

I'm sorry but this giveaway is only open to readers with an U.S. address.

I'd love to win this for my baby girl - I'm the one who is heading to China to get my daughter soon! And ironically, just Thursday I posted a little vent about the sticker shock and how much the baby market has changed in 14 years since my #1 was born. OY!

Evenflo generally puts out a quality product and I would imagine that they may have put more into this product because of the number of competitors in this field. I know that the 3 wheelers have become somewhat popular as of late,but I prefer the double wheels as we see in this model. Feel it gives the stroller a broader,more securer base. Thanks Scribbit for sharing this great find with us.